Zopa acquires DivideBuy
Zopa is set to acquire buy-now-pay-later provider DivideBuy, marking the digital bank’s first acquisition.
The deal, which includes DivideBuy’s point-of-sale finance technology and lending platform, is expected to increase Zopa’s revenue by at least 20 per cent over the next few years.
Rumours of a potential acquisition first surfaced last week, when Sky News reported on talks between the two parties.
The deal comes just two weeks after Zopa raised £75m to drive its growth and support a dealmaking push.
Zopa, which started life as a peer-to-peer lender before pivoting into a bank, said that the partnership will enable its customers to make larger purchases that may otherwise take months or years to save for.
It will run credit checks and affordability assessments for all customers, share data with credit rating agencies and help customers to better consolidate, structure and pay down their debt. It also enables users to build their credit profiles and improve their financial positions.
“This acquisition helps us bring to life BNPL 2.0, an evolution of BNPL which we believe delivers the easy, integrated product which customers love whilst also addressing some of the issues around affordability and responsible lending which have plagued the sector”, said Zopa chief executive Jaidev Janardana.
“Combining DivideBuy’s POS financing solution with Zopa’s best-in-class underwriting capabilities, regulatory permissions, and access to funding will enable digital-first journeys that bring new value to merchants and consistently delight customers.”
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“We were delighted to be approached by Zopa in its search for a POS finance provider to support its vision of building Britain’s best bank”, said DivideBuy chief executive Robert Flowers.
“DivideBuy’s mission has always been to help make life more affordable. This deal with Zopa will bolster our current product suite to help us take POS finance further, faster – with ethical lending at the core. This approach will ensure we meet upcoming regulation head-on to deliver a BNPL 2.0 that’s better for everyone.”
Since launching in 2020, Zopa bank has attracted £3bn in deposits, more than £2bn of loans on balance sheet, and issued close to 400,000 credit cards.
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